The town of Duryea, Pa., sits on the banks of the Lackawanna River. Residents see the placid water from churches, schools and houses — until heavy rain sends the river surging. Since the 1970s a tall earthen levee has protected Duryea, but development and climate change have increased the volume and intensity of storms. Laura Holbrook, director of the flood protection authority for Luzerne County, says the levee needs to be raised by about 3 feet to provide adequate protection.
The clock is ticking. Massive floods struck the county in 2011 and 2014, and several major floods in recent years have caused millions of dollars in damage. The heaviest Northeast storms drop about 60% more rain today than in the mid-20th century, according to the National Climate Assessment. “It definitely keeps me up at night,” Holbrook says.
Local officials sank hundreds of thousands of dollars into designs for levee upgrades to qualify for roughly $11 million in federal funds, but they’ve been unable to access those grants. Over the last year the Trump administration withheld billions of dollars intended for disaster preparedness and mitigation — money small and rural governments rely on. That included halting the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, the largest federal grant program for disaster preparedness.
Last week, after a lawsuit by 20 states, FEMA agreed to restart BRIC. But the backlog and uncertainty remain: two years’ worth of applicants may now compete for one year’s funding, FEMA said in public filings, and the agency indicated it would prioritize “major infrastructure projects.” FEMA did not clarify how long it will take for funds to flow again or whether climate-related projects will be eligible.
Andrew Rumbach of the Urban Institute warns the delay leaves many places exposed. “We’re a country full of sitting ducks, unfortunately,” he says. “They’re vulnerable to hazards like floods and wildfires, and the climate is changing and making these events more common and more costly.”
Small, rural communities like Duryea rely on federal grants to pay for infrastructure that reduces disaster risk. “We don’t have the money to do it, and we don’t have the tax base to do it,” says Keith Moss, Duryea’s emergency management director. The levee upgrade would cost about three times the town’s annual budget. Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-PA), who represents Luzerne County, says, “They just don’t have $10 million laying around.”
BRIC was created after Congress’s 2018 disaster reform bill and initially expanded federal support for projects from flood walls to wildfire protection. An agency report at the time said such investments would save lives and reduce costs, and research shows pre-disaster infrastructure improvements can reduce damage. BRIC became extremely popular: applications outstripped funding every year, even after the Biden administration increased the pool.
But shortly after taking office, the Trump administration canceled the program, saying it was eliminating “waste, fraud and abuse.” The federal government stopped disbursing billions that had been promised and halted processing new applications. The move prompted outcry from local and state officials nationwide, including in Trump-voting areas like Luzerne County. Lawmakers introduced bills to force FEMA to restart BRIC, and 20 states sued.
A federal judge ordered the program reinstated late last year, but it’s unclear when money will move. FEMA has in recent months lost thousands of employees, which could slow application reviews that have previously taken a year or more. In Luzerne County, worry about delay is growing as residents attend council meetings to press for action. “I think the people are really concerned,” Moss says.
The administration’s messaging has been mixed. While restarting BRIC under court order, FEMA sent an email criticizing the Biden-era program as “bogged down in bureaucracy, focused on ‘climate change’ initiatives, and riddled with inefficiencies.” Incoming DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin has suggested FEMA should be “restructured.” That rhetoric raises questions about which communities and project types will be prioritized.
This round of funding includes extra assistance for “small impoverished communities,” offering a larger federal cost share if they win grants. But agency leaders have reversed many Biden-era changes intended to help smaller places compete with big cities and states that have dedicated grant teams. Rural towns often lack staff and expertise: James Brozena, a former Luzerne County flood official now helping local governments with flood risk, notes that many communities rely on volunteers and have “some little old lady that basically is the entire office staff.”
The administration’s hostility to projects framed as climate-related also casts doubt on funding for sea walls, wildfire home-hardening and other measures tied to rising seas and more extreme fires. Even with BRIC’s reinstatement, small towns face an uphill fight against administrative delays, shifting priorities and reduced staffing — all while storms grow more intense and infrastructure needs mount.
For Duryea and similar communities, the result is persistent vulnerability. Local leaders have prepared plans and designs, but without timely federal dollars, projects stall. “I think the people are really concerned,” Moss says — and many towns will remain exposed until funding and clarity arrive.